Blair William & Co. IL Purchases 2,257 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Blair William & Co. IL grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 93,445 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,257 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $11,027,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Activest Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 98.1% in the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 212 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 53.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 249 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 360.0% during the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other news, SVP Bonnie B. Titone sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.38, for a total transaction of $248,760.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,438,843.04. This represents a 9.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas Preston Jr. Gillespie sold 6,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.26, for a total value of $832,542.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,422 shares in the company, valued at $5,768,397.72. This trade represents a 12.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.7%

Duke Energy stock opened at $126.88 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $98.66 billion, a PE ratio of 20.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.66. Duke Energy Corporation has a one year low of $105.20 and a one year high of $127.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $123.06 and a 200 day moving average of $119.87.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.04). Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The firm had revenue of $7.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.18 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Duke Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.170-6.420 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a $1.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on DUK shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $127.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Duke Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $141.00 to $134.00 in a research report on Friday, September 26th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Wednesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.08.

Duke Energy Profile

Duke Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy company in the United States. It operates through two segments: Electric Utilities and Infrastructure (EU&I), and Gas Utilities and Infrastructure (GU&I). The EU&I segment generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity in the Carolinas, Florida, and the Midwest.